I'll Always Answer When You Call
by YourGuardianAngel08
Summary: It was a perfectly normal day until it wasn't. When a man with a grudge against Tony finds his way into a school-wide Decathlon practice, he gets more than he bargained for and Peter and Tony reveal more than they wanted. Irondad/Spiderson; whump!Peter


**Hey everyone! So I was actually working on something else when the thought for this little drabble forced me to write it.**

 **Basically, I wanted to do a piece at Peter's school because what's more fun than breaking the hardass exterior of Tony Stark in front of the entirety of Peter's school.**

 **It's just a bit of drabble but I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Penis Parker!" Flash snapped, his overly enthusiastic voice grating on Peter's thin nerves, "Now that Tony Stark is back in Avengers Tower, do you think you'll be able to do even more for your 'internship'?"

Peter could not tell Flash that he was part of the reason why Tony had bought the tower back so instead he just sighed and tried to ignore the comment. But Flash was in a mood and he just kept pressing, "Does it ever worry you that some day Tony Stark might stop by the school for one of his education initiatives and that when he doesn't recognize who you are, your whole lie will be exposed?" Ned just nudged him as the pair kept walking to the auditorium, trying to ignore Flash's taunting.

But Flash was persistent, "Or that maybe someday we'll go on a fieldtrip to the tower and everyone there will wonder why there's a seventeen year old kid who keeps saying he works with them after school?"

"Flash, why don't you just shut up, alright? You don't know what you're talking about." Ned snapped as he protected his friend.

But that just egged Flash on, "What's the matter Parker? Can't fight your own battles so you're going to have your girlfriend do it?"

Peter glanced over at Ned, "Don't say anything else, man. He'll stop when we get into the auditorium."

Ned scoffed at the prospect but he stopped engaging in time for them to make it to the backdoor to the auditorium.

* * *

They were a few questions into the school-wide practice when the hair on Peter's arm stood up and he could not help but sit a bit straighter in his chair. The motion pulled Ned's attention to him, and he whispered the best he could, "Peter, what's going on?"

Peter was focused on a spot at the back of the auditorium and he hissed, "Someone's here, Ned." Peter froze. He could not warn anyone without giving himself away but at the same time, he had to make sure that whatever was about to happen, hurt the fewest people possible.

Then the door at the back of the auditorium snapped open and a tall, spindly man fired two rounds into the ceiling. Immediately chaos broke loose as kids screamed and dove for the floor while teachers watched from where they were crouched near their classes. Peter was the only one who stayed standing. It was only after Ned tugged on his pant leg from under the table that Peter realized he was standing on his own, a bulwark against the threat. But the tug also reminded him that he was still Peter Parker, not Spider-Man. Peter dropped to the floor next to his friend.

Another two rounds hit the ceiling farther into the auditorium, making it sound as though the man was walking toward the stage. Then another two slammed into the ceiling at the front row of seats. The creaking of the wooden stairs signaled his ascent onto the stage and then he fired another couple of rounds into the wall at the back of the stage before he started laughing. It was a grating laugh that did not make sense because there was no rhythm to it, no consistency to the tone or pitch. Then as abruptly as the laughing started, it stopped, "So this is Midtown Tech, huh? Not quite what I expected but whatever." The man shrugged his shoulders before he continued addressing the school, "So here's the deal. I'm looking for Peter Parker. And just to encourage your participation, I'm going to give Peter Parker!" The man screamed the name before continuing at a more reasonable volume, "Thirty seconds to show himself before I start picking off his classmates in the front row."

Peter heard the collective gasps and screams from the kids, presumably in that row, and knew what he needed to do. Ignoring the hushed commands of his friends, Peter stood quickly and fixed the man with, what he hoped was, a withering stare, before quietly answering, "I'm Peter." Peter felt Ned tug on his pant leg again but he ignored it as he tried to figure out this guy's deal. He was lithe but well built, he was a bit more intimidating than he looked at first sight. He was taller than Peter, probably a bit taller than Mr. Stark, with crooked teeth and a bent nose that looked like it had been broken more than once but not fixed correctly. It was not the teeth or the nose that kept Peter's attention though, that belonged to the automatic pistol the man was carrying. Alarm bells went off in his head and he realized he needed to be very careful.

"Ah yes, you're definitely Peter Parker." The man smiled and then gestured at him with the gun, "Come here." He ordered.

Peter obliged. He stepped around the table and when he came close enough, the man reacted with a surprising speed, wrapping his arm around Peter's throat and pulling him back against his chest before pressing the gun into his ribs. Then the man spoke softly to him, "Sorry about this, Peter, really I am, but there is no way around it." Then he raised his voice, "All of you, the ones behind the table, get out from under there now!"

Peter winced at the loudness of the command but watched as no one showed themselves. Peter could only pray that would continue until the man pulled the pistol away from his ribs and fired a few more rounds into the ceiling, "All of you come out here now or I'm going to start putting holes in Mr. Parker."

Ned and MJ were the first to stand up before, slowly, the rest of the Decathlon team joined them.

"That's good. Now come around to the front of the table and sit back down." As the kids did as he asked, the man cooed again, praising the kids before turning his attention back to Peter.

"Why are you doing this?" Peter demanded, hoping to pull the attention off his classmates.

"You'll find out, Mr. Parker." He hissed as he started to pat down the teenager's jacket. Then his hand pressed the phone into his chest and Peter recoiled at the wicked smile that crossed the man's face. Without warning, the man stage whispered, "Call him, kid," into Peter's ear as he pressed the gun deep into his ribs, bruising the flesh. But when Peter made no move to comply, he cocked the gun and tried again, "Call. Him." The man snarled a bit louder.

Peter froze as he realized exactly what the man wanted and he started to panic, the need to protect Mr. Stark pressing to the forefront of his mind. He vigorously shook his head, "I'm not bringing him into this." Peter answered as he forced his voice to waver slightly as he disguised the fact that he could easily disarm this man, he just needed the right moment.

"Oh kid, this is all about him." Then suddenly, the pain was gone from his ribs and his arm was wrenched up roughly behind his back before the man pressed hard in a practiced motion. Peter felt the bone give under the pressure as a soft pop from his shoulder caused his eyes to water in pain that only got worse when the man did not let him sag, holding him up by the now broken arm. Peter felt his gaze wander as he tried to breathe passed the pain but then the gun swung away from him and trained on one of the girls on the Decathlon team. He tried to figure out who it was but his head was spinning and he was seeing at least double. The girl with two heads kind of looked like MJ but he also knew MJ did not have two heads so he shook his head to clear it. He managed force his attention to focus on the man, pressing the pain to the back of his mind, "Wait, stop. I'll – I'll call him." Peter whispered haltingly.

The man let go of the broken arm, allowing it to fall at his side before he reached into Peter's pocket and pulled out his phone before pressing the home button, only to be denied. Holding it up, the man pushed it into Peter's face, "Open it." He demanded.

Peter nearly vomited when the broken arm fell dead to his side, smacking into his leg but he felt the phone pressed into his hand and watched the gun shift back to his team. He could not help but think that all the crap Flash had been giving him earlier that day was about to be thrown in his face, he just wished it had been in a slightly different way. Then the man shoved the phone in his face and demanded he open it, it took Peter a second to understand what he was saying but as soon as the man repeated it, he pressed his finger on the device and it opened.

"Thank you." The man answered almost cordially before he shoved the gun back into Peter's ribs, "Now, let's see." He hummed as he scrolled through the contacts before landing on 'Mr. Stark'. He pressed call and then speaker so the entire auditorium could hear. The phone rang a four times and Peter heard Flash snicker in the background, even given the circumstances. He could only imagine what he would be saying if there was not a man with a gun on the stage.

After those rings though, the call connected and Tony's confident tone echoed through the large auditorium, "What's up, kid?" The familiarity was impossible to miss and Peter could feel his cheeks go red as others in the gym heard it as well. He definitely did not miss Flash's disbelieving gasp.

The man just smirked, his voice gleeful as he answered, "The kid can't talk right now Tony, he's a little preoccupied."

"Who the hell are you and why are you on Pete's phone?" The juxtaposition of ease with the absolute vitriol in Tony's voice was shocking, immediate and unconditional. But the most painful part for Peter was that it was almost more obvious than the familiarity. And it caused the man to laugh again. It was high and uneven and just a little bit off pitch as he exaggerated his amusement at Tony's expense. But the man did not say anything else, so Tony filled in the space with an incensed growl, "I swear to god, you had better tell me what the fuck – "

But the man cut him off with a tisk, "Ah ah ah, Tony. We're in a school, you can't talk like that in a school." Tony swore again in the background, but the man continued, "Say hello Peter, its obvious Ton – wait, what do you call him?" He made a display of checking the phone screen to look at the name, holding it up to show the rest of the gathered students, "Oh that's right, Mr. Stark. Well, Mr. Stark is obviously worried about you. You might as well let him know you're still alive."

If it was possible, the embarrassment Peter felt at Tony's response and that entire exchange was worse than the pain in his arm. Then the man addressed him and told him to talk to Mr. Stark. Peter knew that if he did not say anything that Tony would freak out so he hurried to answer, "He-hey Mr. Stark." He tried to keep his voice quiet but ultimately it failed as all eyes were on him.

Tony's voice lowered as well when he spoke, the relief almost palpable in his tone, "Hey Pete, you good?" Peter knew the question he actually wanted to ask but was unsure how to word.

"I'm alright, Mr. Stark." Peter answered, willing him to understand what he meant before he added, "We're on speaker." He was trying to get across to Tony that he had to be careful what he said. It was quiet but Peter could hear the sounds of the Iron Man suit in the background.

"Kid, I'm going to be there soon, okay?" Tony whispered, "Just do what he tells you for right now, I'll be there."

"Aww isn't that sweet," the man interrupted, to Tony's vocal chagrin. Then the mocking tone was back, "See you soon, Mr. Stark." And before he could say anything else, the man ended the call. He glanced between Peter and the rest of the school, "Looks like we're all just settling in to wait then."

* * *

The repulsors were loud enough to be heard outside the auditorium doors and heralded Tony's ostentatious arrival. As soon as he was in the doors, the man smiled wide, "Ah yes, the great Tony Stark." But Tony did not respond, instead stepping forward threateningly, the auditorium lights glinting off Bleeding Edge. But the man just continued to talk, his hand tightening on Peter's broken arm while the gun pressed tightly into his ribs, "You know, I wasn't sure if you would come for your precious intern. I thought this plan had a fifty-fifty chance of success, but here you are."

As Tony stepped up to the base of the stage, he turned his mask up, "You got me here, what do you want?" Tony hissed, desperate to keep the attention off Peter. While he waited for the man to answer him, Tony studied the kid, noticing that he looked a little paler than normal, almost a little green, and he was sweating. Afraid that the kid had been shot, Tony whispered to FRIDAY, "Scan Pete, make sure he's okay."

She took a moment before she answered, "His arm is broken, boss. Looks like spiral fractures to his ulna and radius plus a dislocated shoulder."

Tony simmered silently as he stood waiting for the man's reply.

"Why don't you take that armor off, Mr. Stark? Or are you too afraid of the world seeing your fear?" He sneered down at the armored man before continuing, "I just want you to understand how easy you have it. Every choice you have ever made works out for the best, for you at least. Every break that you could possibly have, you get. But not all of us have that luck and just to show you what it really feels like, I'm changing your luck for you. I want you to have to choose between someone you love," he pressed the gun back into Peter's ribs and pulled back on the hammer, "and deaths of the innocent. See, when you cause problems for the rest of us, we have to choose. Now its your turn." The man snarled, true conviction in his tone.

The armor had retracted from Tony's face as the man laid out his plan and Peter watched the terror flash briefly across his dad's face before he buried it and he felt bad for causing it. Still, there was nothing that he could do, instead he had to try to act like the high schooler he was supposed to be.

Tony took his turn to talk. "Listen, just listen," Tony started, holding his hands out in front of him as the Iron Man armor bled away completely leaving just the man standing on the floor in front of the stage. "It does not have to be like this, you don't have to hurt anyone. You can take me, okay? Just let him go." Tony said, his voice soft as he tried to reason with the obviously crazed man and get to a place where he could get his kid away from the gun. Tony slowly started to work his way up the steps.

"No, see there's no deal to be made. I'm going to either kill him or kill a few of these kids behind him." He said as he shifted the gun back behind him to randomly point it at the Decathlon kids huddled on the ground in front of the table. "Because I know that the only way to really get Iron Man's attention is to force him to make a decision. There is no out this time, Tony." The man shifted the barrel of the gun into Peter's temple, forcing the kid to bend with the pressure. Still, the man continued, "So the question is, _Iron Man_ ," the mocking tone was back, "who do you chose? Can you deal with watching this one kid die? Or will the others just be more nameless innocents lost to your 'heroics'? A preventable loss in a choice you made." The man smiled again, showing off his crooked teeth to the kids clustered in the seats behind Tony.

That caused Tony to stumble.

He could not lose Peter. Every fiber of his being was rebelling against the thought of that. But he also knew that Peter would never forgive him if Tony chose him over the others. Tony knew he would lose him anyway.

Tony could not afford to keep his attention on the man, he desperately needed to see how Peter was doing and so he chose to drop his attention to his son, trying desperately to figure out what they were going to do without words. He knew the man could only get off a handful of shots before Peter stopped him but that was still too many students injured or dead before either one of the heroes could stop it. Peter caught Tony's eye and an understanding passed between them. Tony's heart broke at what he knew Peter was going to do if the opportunity arose and he started to panic a bit as he looked for a way to keep Peter from solving the problem on his own.

Instead, the universe did not seem to be on his side.

"Enough!" The man shouted, "You're going to pay attention to me now _Tony Stark_ ," He snapped. "You need to choose. Peter," he said, pressing the gun to his temple, "Or a random few of these kids." He turned the gun back on the students behind him. That was when Peter moved, exactly what Tony assumed he was going to do. And Tony started a move a split second after.

Without warning, Peter wrenched his broken arm out of the man's hold, pressing the vomit that rose in the back of his throat down as he stepped in front of the gun, blocking even the chance of the bullet hitting any of his classmates. He wrapped his hand around the barrel but his movement scared the man and before he could twist the object away, the man's finger put just enough pressure on the trigger for it to release.

In sickening slow motion, he heard _pop, pop, pop_ just as the piercing bites of metal slammed into his chest, nearly knocking the breath from his lungs.

But he managed to hold on to enough air to keep the man occupied for one more moment. He needed to buy Tony just a little more time. So Peter yanked hard, using the last of his endurance to tear the gun from the man's limp grasp. He could not help but feel relieved at the shocked expression on his face as the gun disappeared. And then only a heartbeat later, a surprisingly loud heartbeat Peter recognized, Tony brought his gauntleted fist down on the man's collarbone and a nauseating snapping sound echo through the discord. As soon as the man dropped out of his vision, Peter wavered for a moment before he finally gave in to the blackness that was calling on the corners of his vision. He dropped boneless to the ground, leaving Iron Man as the only one standing.

Tony saw Peter start to move and in the same breath he ordered the suit deploy around his wrist like a hammer. He watched his son pivot in front of the gun, protecting his classmates, and putting himself in danger but before Peter could get the gun away and before Tony could get there, he heard the sharp snaps of igniting firing caps. A split second later, Tony stepped behind the man and brought his hand down hard on his shoulder, splintering the collarbone and forcing him to the ground. But it was not fast enough. As the man dropped from between them, Tony watched Peter waver on his feet as his eyes rolled back and he dropped to the ground before Tony could lunge forward to catch him. "Pete!" Tony screamed, hesitating for just a moment while he tried to control the wail welling up in his throat. Instead, he created cuffs and slamming them on the man's wrists before kicking the gun away from his hand. Then, to relieve some of the fear and frustration, he slammed his fist into the man's face, knocking him out.

Threat eliminated, he dropped heavily next to Peter. Tony's heart clenched when he realized the kid was laying on his side, not moving. "Pete," Tony squeaked, the heartbreak laid out for all to see as the gauntlets disappeared before he gently rolled the kid onto his back. "Peter," Tony tried again a little louder but still the kid did not react. Swallowing back the paralyzing fear, Tony looked him over, it was obvious he had been hit. Then he saw the slowly pulsing blood from three clustered bullet holes just to the right of the middle of his son's chest. "Shit, Pete." Tony swore as he pressed down hard on the wounds and then recoiled when the kid coughed under his hand, causing blood to splatter his lips. Peter groaned and twisted his head to the side as his face scrunched in pain. Tony's eyes widened in panic as he pressed down harder and tried to compose himself, praying to any deity that was listening that nothing vital had been damaged.

There was a small part of him hoping that if he pressed hard enough, Peter would wake up but it did not work. Instead, it just left Tony trying desperately to ignore the blood that was pulsing between his fingers. Tony could not help but plead, "Stay with me, Peter. Please stay with me." In the back of his mind, he realized this was not the ideal situation but he could not help the fear that was increasingly coloring his tone. Tony knew he needed to get the wounds sealed and he called for the wrist guard to manifest one of the natural sealants. Settling on his solution, he pressed down harder once more on the wound before moving his hands and releasing the nanobots. He watched as they began to rebuild the tissue around the wound. Tony hovered just in case it did not close but the sealant did its job. In response, Tony laid his bloody hand in Peter's hair, feeling guilty when the blood stained his curls. Still he could not help the action, knowing how much it meant the last time Peter had been hurt.

Then the whispered twittering of their audience caught Tony's attention, Peter needed more help than the nanobots could give and the people here could do that. Without looking up from what he was doing, Tony snapped, "Ned, get over here."

Ned shuffled forward from where he had been curled on the ground, his cheeks wet from tears and he dropped down next to Peter's side, awkwardly placing his hands in his lap, "Rig-right here, Mr. Stark."

Tony risked turning away momentarily as he grabbed Peter's phone from where it had fallen just behind him and thrust it toward him without looking at him, "Call Happy. Tell him Peter needs help and to get Helen here. Now." The kid deftly opened the phone and started to look through the contacts leaving Tony to refocus his attention on Peter. Tony almost regretted his tone but then Peter groaned in pain.

Almost immediately, Tony forgot about his kid's friend. Then the man behind him started to groan, dragging his attention in an altogether unwelcome direction. Tony's response was not nearly as composed as he would have liked and he ended up snarling at the man who had caused his kid's pain. On instinct, he redirected his gaze to the teacher crouched in front of his students, "You? You're Harrington right?" Tony snapped, and when the man nodded, he continued, "The NYPD is outside, they're holding the perimeter but I want him dealt with." Without question, Harrington took off down the stage steps and out the door. The man groaned again and without thinking about his audience, Tony turned and slammed his fist back into the face of the man behind him, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone as his cheekbone broke under the hit.

Tony hovered protectively over Peter, his hand on his kid's shoulder as he tried to talk to him, tried to get him to wake up. Instead, the kid remained just on the edge of consciousness, he was groaning in pain and turning into the hand Tony was carding through his hair but he still was not listening. Tony knew the kid was tougher than this. He slipped his hand around the bracelet on Peter's wrist so he could have the contact and so it was easier for him to talk to Peter's AI, "Karen, what's going on?"

Tony held his breath as he listened to the voice in his ear, "Peter is currently in an obtunded state because his body is attempting to deal with the pain and damage of the gunshots and the broken bones." Karen's sweet but factual response did nothing for his reaction to the information. But she continued before he could ask anything else, "The nanobots have stopped the external bleeding but one of the bullets nicked the small cardiac vein, another the lung, and that coupled with the other damage means his chest is slowly filling with blood. The bots are working on the problem but medical attention is advised." Tony dropped his head over Peter's chest and forced himself to breathe through his nose as he tightened his hold on Peter's wrist.

When Tony looked back up again, Ned was kneeling in front of him, Peter's phone clutched tightly in his hand while he stared down at his friend. Tony fixed him with a sad look and tried to softly pulled the kid's attention back to him, "Ned?" But he did not look up. Tony tried again, a little louder, "Ned. Ned, look at me." He reacted to that and turned his watery eyes to Tony's. Then he seemed to remember what he was doing, "Mr – Mr. Stark, Happy said he is on his way with Dr. Cho now. She was the attending on duty so he grabbed her as soon as he heard about what was happening at the school, they should be here in soon."

Tony gave him a small, sad smile before he answered, "Good, thanks Ned." Then without meaning to, he turned his attention back to the kid on the floor, "Come on, Pete. Now's the time to wake up." After a few more minutes, a force of cops came running into the auditorium and they started ushering kids out of the room while a few others made a beeline for the stage. They began to move the students out of the auditorium starting in the back, while a small group wrenched the man up off the floor and carried him, groaning, down the steps and out the door. The rest of the Decathlon team was still clustered in front of the table, their gazed fixed on either Tony and Peter or the cops who were slowly evacuating their peers.

* * *

Peter was definitely sure he was dead.

Or he thought that this was what dead felt like but then at the same time he realized that if he was dead he probably would not be feeling any of this pain and since he was, he probably was not dead.

Conclusion reached, he forced himself to try to remember what happened. There was a gun, he definitely knew that much, and then there was a…a man who wanted something. _Oh god,_ Peter thought as he remembered the man had wanted to talk to his dad. Peter very clearly remembered the phone call in front of his entire school and he could not help but groan as he came closer to the surface of waking. He heard a weird noise that kind of sounded like his name but it was too garbled to be sure. And then the pain slammed into him. It did not just hit him, it engulfed his brain in a fire that would have made Hela sweat and made him completely forget about the thing that kind of sounded like his name. It was sudden too, like his mind had been keeping it at bay and once he recognized its existence, a dam broke. His eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly, trying to find something to numb the pain. He landed on Tony and he felt himself crumple immediately, as much out of relief as it was out of agony. Peter twisted his hand to grab Tony's sleeve, clutching the fabric for dear life. The man had his eyes shut but his hand was tangled in Peter's hair so he tugged a bit harder and waited for Tony to pay attention to him.

At the weak tug, Tony's eyes snapped open and he gave the kid a wide, if tortured, smile. "How yah doin', Pete?" Tony croaked, knowing full well that the kid was not doing okay.

"Hurts, da'd." Peter groaned, wincing at the metallic taste on his tongue. If he was any closer to consciousness or in any less pain, he would have cursed himself for letting that thought slip but he was so tired, he hurt, and all his attention was on the man in front of him. Needless to say, he missed the shocked gasps of his classmates and the sudden twittering that always went with shocking information.

To Tony's credit, he took the title in stride, "I know, kid," Tony hiccupped curling farther over the prone teenager and trying desperately to protect him from…something. "You're doin' good though. Just keep talking to me." Tony slid his free hand into Peter's instead of leaving the kid clutching his sleeve.

"Who was he?" Peter gasped, twisting slightly as he tried to find a more comfortable position.

"I don't know yet," Tony growled, the implication clear in his tone, before he forced himself to calm down, "But we'll talk about him later, what's going on here?" He nodded toward the stage around him.

Peter heard the rage in the tone but he latched onto the question, that he could answer, "We won states so we're going to nationals, this was practice." His voice was a little wheezier than he remembered.

"Thought that was on Thursday," Tony responded, trying to keep the kid talking. Peter had been talking about the tournament for the last few weeks, he knew the date well.  
"Was supposed to be but it got changed this morning." Peter squirmed a bit as the discomfort got to him, "Da', can you take your hand off my chest? Hurts."

"Pete, I don't have my hand on your chest." Tony felt the panic starting to swell again. "What's wrong?"

Peter blinked up at him and as he tried to understand what Tony was saying before he explained what was bothering him, "…hurts is all, little tight."

Tony thought about asking Peter to elaborate but figured it would not be helpful so instead he asked someone who could actually tell him the answer, "Karen, what's going on?"

"Too much blood built up in his chest before the bleeding was repaired." The concern in her tone was obvious and Tony felt that panic crawl up his throat. He was not going to lose his kid again. No way in hell was he going to lose his kid. Tony's hands started to sweat and his own breath hitched in his throat as those implications threatened to strangle him.

"Get the nanobots on it," he hissed.

"Sir, the wounds have been repaired but it was not fast enough to stop the problem. There are limits to what they can do. He badly needs medical attention."

"Peter," Tony said, knowing that the use of his full name would be enough to focus his son's attention, "I need you to listen to me. You have to keep your eyes on me until help gets here. I'm not going anywhere, but you have to stay awake for as long as you can."

Peter could not help the terror that took over his mind at the implications of Tony's tone, still he managed to squeak out, "Okay." He winced as the pressure on his chest made him squirm again, "Hurts." He was dangerously close to pleading. He could feel the tears at the back of his eyes. Everything just hurt so badly.

Tony knew if he heard Peter plead that it would break him. As it was, he felt the tears building in his eyes as he looked down at Peter's glassy ones He answered Peter's unspoken worries with a fierce determination, "I know, Pete but I'm not leaving you. I'm not going anywhere until help gets here. I'm staying with you." He held the kid's gaze and squeezed the hand he was still holding before he glanced up for just a moment, "Ned, call Happy again, find out where the hell they are." Then he turned his attention back to the kid, his hand carefully sliding back into his hair.

* * *

At some point, Peter's teacher showed up next Tony. The man spoke slowly, his eyes wide behind the brown-rimmed glasses, "Mr. Stark, is there anything I can do to help?"

Tony could hear the concern in his tone and he genuinely felt bad for how he had spoken to him before. Tony forced himself to break Peter's gaze, "I have a specialized med team on their way here, I need you to get them here, Peter needs help. He needs them." Harrington did not say anything else, just nodded behind his ridiculously large glasses and stood carefully before hurrying back out of the room. Tony went back to murmuring to Peter.

* * *

Helen and Happy arrived not too long after that, Harrington leading them back to the auditorium. By that point, the majority of the school had been evacuated with the exception being the team still on the stage, so it was easy for them to get into place.

As soon as he saw them clamber onto the stage, Tony practically fell back out of the way so they could get to work but he still resolutely clutched Peter's hand, for as far away as he slid, he never once let go. And to his credit, Peter did not once let his eyes wander from Tony's. As the medical team did what they needed to, Tony kept talking to him, "I'm here, kid. You're gonna be alright Peter. Helen is going to take care of you."

Once Peter was set up to move, Helen looked up at him apologetically, "Tony, you have to let go, we need to move him." The doctor had never seen him so uncomfortable, so lost but she needed him to listen. She laid her hand on his arm, "We're taking him to the tower Tony, you can be there faster than we can but we have to go. Even he can't handle the pressure in his chest, I need to get him into surgery now."

It was one of the worst things that Tony had ever done but he pried his hand out of Peter's grasp. Thankfully, the kid was mostly out of it and by the time he reacted to the separation, he could only give an uncomfortable grunt in opposition. Tony watched them quickly wheel the gurney out of the auditorium and he was about to follow when he heard a quiet sniffle from behind him. Happy was standing next to him and heard it too, glancing over his shoulder before asking softly, "Do you want me to get these kids to their parents, boss?"

"No," he huffed, looking to where Helen had taken off with the gurney, even while he continued to talk to Happy, "Go with Helen, make sure they get back to the tower, I'll get them out of the school and then I'll meet you there. Pete got hurt protecting them, I need to make sure they're covered."

Happy frowned at him for a moment before he nodded without argument and took off at a run toward the doorway, catching up with Helen, Peter, and the rest of the team.

Tony looked over at the clustered kids in front of the table. They were in varying stages of shock and Tony knew he looked terrible, it took everything in his considerable power to keep from looking at the blood on his hands and not thinking about Titan. About the feeling of his bloody hands caked with dust from Peter's body. Tony shuddered at the memory he had not meant to let in. But then he refocused on what was happening in front of him. He looked at the kids cowering on the stage and ordered, "Come with me. We're going to get you back to your parents." Ned stood up and stepped forward immediately. Tony absentmindedly wondered when he had moved back to the group but it did not matter because Ned's motion seemed to strike something for the rest of the students. They slowly uncoiled from around each other and made their way off the stage, following close behind Tony.

Ned stepped close to the superhero as they walked down the deserted hallway, "Will he be alright Mr. Stark?"

"Yes." Tony answered, leaning hard into the fake confidence he was attempting to project.

But Ned was not the one who responded. Instead it was a question from another student close behind him, "How can you be sure?" A bite of distrust colored the slight, curly haired young woman's query. Tony knew he knew her name but was so focused on getting away from this school and getting to his kid that he just could not be bothered to remember it.

"And you are?" He matched her demanding tone, somewhere in the back of his mind he realized he was talking to a high schooler but it had been a rough day.

"Michelle but my friends – "

"Call you MJ," Tony cut her off and then explained waving his hand in front of him, "Pete's told me quite a bit about you too. I haven't met you yet though."

Tony had tried to be a bit intimidating but the young woman was unfazed by his harshness, and she answered with a severity of her own, "So answer the question, how do you know he'll be alright?"

"Because I said he would be. And I do whatever I have to, to be right." Tony's characteristic confidence was forced and it was painfully clear to anyone paying attention that he was rattled but for whatever reason the answer still seemed to pacify the bristly teen.

He started to walk faster, hoping to usher them into the waiting arms of the cops so he could leave. But the fact that Tony was answering questions was the cue for Flash to ask his own, "Why do you care about him?"

It took a second for that question to soak into his consciousness but when it did Tony's step faltered as he turned around slowly, the nanobot housing glowing its pale blue against his black sweatshirt. He stared the kid down and slipped as much condescension into his response as possible, "What kind of dumbass question is that?" Then, just to reiterate, he turned to look at one of the other students, "Did he really just ask me that?"

The small Asian girl he asked just nodded quickly, obviously nervous at being addressed. Question confirmed, Tony turned back to the stupid kid and fixed him with a glare instead. This was really not the time.

Flash tried to backtrack, to explain himself, "I – I mean, he's just…he's just like an intern right? He just kind of wo – works at your company doing filing and getting coffee and stuff. Right?"

Oh right, that stupid line, "Pete's my personal intern and he doesn't just get 'coffee and stuff', he works in the lab, helps design equipment, solves problems, helps people." Tony's eyes narrowed as he remembered something else, "You're Flash aren't you?"

His eyes widened in horror as Tony said his name, "Ye-yes, sir. How…how do you know my name?"

Tony took a menacing step forward, the kids parting in front of him as he fixed one of their classmates with an intense glare. "Penis Parker? That's not even original." Tony hissed, inwardly smiling at the sickened expression Flash gave him. Tony knew the moment when Flash realized everything he had said about the internship had been so horribly wrong. Then Tony leaned closer, invading the kid's space so he could hiss something just to this jackass kid, "He saved your life. You're a jackass to him daily and he still saved your life. Don't forget that." Then he stood and turned, leading his small flock toward the front of the school, not even paying attention to the fact that the Flash kid slunk to the back of the group. At least that was until he threw over his shoulder, "Also, don't even bother applying at Stark Industries, you'll never work for me." Somewhere in his mind he realized that Pepper would be upset with him for that, for scaring a high schooler, but it had been a pretty terrible day and so he figured he deserved a pass. Tony did not even want to think about what Peter would say if he heard that.

* * *

Tony turned the kids over to the cops, smiling perfunctorily as the parents gathered there thanked him before he managed to step out into the street and deployed the suit. He was rocketing away before anyone else could keep him in one place.

He made it back to the Tower in record time, immediately heading to the medical floor and finding a seat near the door. FRIDAY would have told him if anything happened so he waited with bated breath until Helen came out of the theater and told him his kid would survive.

Tony did not know how long he waited but eventually the door to his left opened and he forced his head out of his hands. Standing as soon as he saw the doctor, he immediately asked, "How is he?"

She gave him her coy smile before she explained, "He'll be alright Tony but it was close. We lost him once on the table but we got him back pretty quickly. If you had not used the nanobots, he would not have made it out of that auditorium. You kept him alive." Her smile widened as she laid a hand on his arm to pull his attention back from where it had wandered. "He's going to make it, Tony. He's okay." She took a step back to look at him fully, "Why don't you go in? He's still unconscious but I'm sure he'll come around soon."

* * *

It was a few hours later when Peter finally showed signs of waking up.

Tony was sitting awkwardly on the chair at Peter's bedside trying to answer emails or texts, or design something but none of it was working and he had given up for the sake of staring at the unconscious teenager and willing him to wake up. So when he finally started to groan, Tony immediately shot up and leaned forward.

"Pete? You awake?" Tony asked quietly, resting his elbows on the bed while restraining himself from poking at Peter's cheeks. The kid groaned a bit as he rolled his head against the pillow but he did not fully wake up. Tony got a bit agitated, "Peter, now's the time to prove to your old man that you're alright."

Peter slowly winked his eye open, groaning pathetically, "Oh god, dad." He pressed his hand to his head as he met Tony's eyes. His voice was thin when he finally found it, "What happened? I feel about as good as I did the time Cap hit me with his shield."

Tony's emotions were still raw and immediately his smile dropped while his anger rose when Peter used that comparison, "Cap hit you with his shield?"

Peter winced before he scrambled to explain as soon as he heard the anger, "It was a while ago, like when you two were fighting while ago."

"Oh," Tony responded. Peter must have been talking about Germany.

"Either way, it felt like this." Peter finished, squinting up at the man leaned forward on the bed, "What happened?"

Tony leaned forward farther, "What do you remember, Pete?"

Peter scrunched his eyes shut as he tried to recall why he ended up in this bed, with Tony's worried expression driving guilt farther into his chest. "Decathlon? A guy with a gun? Oh god, he wanted me to call you, to bring you to…my…school…Crap." Peter groaned.

"Yah, crap about sums it up kid." Tony sighed before he continued, "I would probably go a little stronger word but we'll work with crap for right now. Also, I have a new rule. You are never allowed to step in front of a gun again and I swear to god, if you do, I will ground you from your suit, from the Avengers, and from pretty much your entire life until your twenty-six."

Peter winced as he heard the concern and pain in Tony's voice, he could not help but mumble an 'I'm sorry.'

"Stop apologizing," Tony responded automatically before he sighed, "Its alright Pete." Tony dropped a hand on Peter's arm, as he looked up at him with unveiled honesty, "Just never again, okay? I can't take it."

Peter was taken back by Tony's response and he just nodded, unable to trust himself to say anything. After he managed to swallow back the lump in his throat, he asked the other thing he was worrying about, "Did everyone at my school see everything?"

Tony gave him a sympathetic smile, "I think that's a pretty safe bet, Pete."

Peter groaned and dropped his head back against the pillow, "Do you think there is anything I can do to fix the intern story? Something tells me no one is going to believe that you did all that for one intern."

"Yah, that cover is blown to hell, kid." Tony said shyly, "You kind of called me 'dad' while you were bleeding out and something tells me your classmates are not going to forget that any time soon. Intern is definitely not going to be the rumor going around when you get back to school."

Peter just gave him a sickened, stricken look as he tried to work his way through that information, "I did what?"

Tony frowned, "It's alright Pete. There have to be worse things your peers can think about you, having me for a dad can't really be the worst thing?"

Peter could not help but think that he heard a hint of sadness in Tony's tone, he couldn't really think that Peter did not want him as a dad? Peter had already told him the way he felt about him after the warehouse incident. But still there was an uncharacteristic insecurity rolling off him that Peter could not ignore. "That's not it, Mr. Stark. It's just, I – I don't know, I just didn't want them to know." He finished lamely, frustration creeping up his throat as he stressed about trying to explain himself. He wanted to explain his own confusion, his own inability to voice his feelings.

Thankfully, Tony was more understanding than most people gave him credit for, "I get it, Pete. It's your business, not theirs. Take it from someone who has never had his own business, I understand. Unfortunately, I think you're stuck with this one. Too many of those kids heard what you said. If you really want me to, I could try buying them off…" Tony trailed away.

"No," Peter practically shouted, reaching forward to grab his dad's hand. When Tony jumped at the movement, he calmed down, "Please don't do that, dad." Peter intentionally used the title, to let him know that was not the problem, "I don't – I don't care that they know, I just wish they hadn't found out in such a dramatic way."

"Oh trust me, kid. I would have preferred literally any other way than watching you bleed out." Tony usually tried to avoid this type of blatant honesty bit he needed Peter to understand that he was not trying to push anything on him.

"I know. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Peter, seriously stop apologizing," Tony huffed as he scolded Peter for the hundredth time. "You did what you felt like you had to do to protect your friends. I get that but, like I said, next time, maybe don't step in front of the barrel of a gun. Just a suggestion."

Their conversation fell there as Peter's eyes started to droop. And then Tony remembered there was something else he needed to tell his kid, "So – uh – one other thing, I don't think that Flash kid is going to be bothering you anymore," Tony squeaked out.

His sheepish look set off alarm bells in Peter's mind, "Why…?"

Tony refused to look the teenager in the eye, but still answered, "I might have told him off for how he's been treating you."

"Mr. Stark," Peter practically whined, "I asked you not to say anything."

"I couldn't help it okay," Tony snapped, but he softened his response when Peter jumped slightly at his tone. Tony sighed and rubbed his hand over his face, "I just – he asked me why I cared about you and I kind of lost it. I swear I didn't mean to Pete but I just couldn't stand by and not answer that question." Before Peter could say anything, Tony continued, "And I do hate the way he treats you by the way."

"Thanks, dad," Peter said softly as he tugged on the hand Tony was holding. The man carefully slid onto the bed and wrapped an arm around his son, "Anytime, kid. I am sorry your class knows…what they think they know."

Peter curled into the embrace, laying his head on Tony's shoulder, "It's okay, its not like it was your fault. Thanks for coming to help me." Peter said as he tipped his head up off Tony's shoulder. Tucking himself back into the embrace he asked, "Did you find out who that guy was?"

"Naw, I figured it doesn't matter. We'll find out soon enough but it's not important right now. He's in jail and he's never going to get close to you or anyone else again. That I can promise. I've been too worried about you to deal with him." Tony spoke softly and pulled Peter closer, not willing to let him go right now.

Peter relaxed to Tony's voice vibrating in his chest, realizing that this was becoming more than a bit of a habit. Still Peter did not dwell and whether by nerves or instinct, Tony started rubbing his hand up and down his back, lulling him closer to sleep. He did not really want to sleep but he could not keep the his eyes open. Without meaning to, he gave in and slowly slumped into his surrogate father's hold.

Tony felt it when Peter finally fell asleep and in response, he laid his cheek against Peter's hair and closed his own eyes. His kid was fine and he would stay that way.

* * *

Tony and May had talked and decided to keep Peter out of school for about two weeks longer than he needed. His classmates might know that the internship is real but they did not need to know about Spider-Man and both Tony and Peter wanted to keep it that way.

When Peter finally went back to school, some things had changed.

More people wanted to sit with him, Ned, and MJ at lunch.

Some of his teachers were a bit nicer to him, asking how he was and how he was feeling. He had never really had any problem with any of his teachers but the increased questions made him feel a little uncomfortable. Still, it was fine, he knew they were trying to be helpful.

MJ hovered, something she had never really done before, and her observation skills became a bit more obvious anytime Peter was out of her sight.

Ned stayed Ned, he had known about the situation for the longest and short of asking Peter how he was doing a bit more often, he had not changed, which Peter found incredibly comforting.

Then there was Flash.

Peter really had not been sure what was going to happen there. He knew Tony had threatened him about working at Stark Industries and he knew that he had called him a jackass but a lot of what happened was kind of a blur so it was difficult for him to know exactly what the older kid knew and was going to do.

It was some time during eighth period when Flash found him in the library. "Look Parker," Flash started, before his expression soured a little, but he still continued, "I – uh – I apparently have a few things to apologize for."

Peter thought about telling him not to worry about it but knew that this might be a good thing, so he let him talk.

"So I need to say thank you for…for not letting that guy shoot us. And, I'm…uh…sorry about not believing you about the internship. Obviously, it's totally true," but he just could not help himself and scoffed, "unless you somehow managed to afford the best Tony Stark look alike I've ever seen."

Peter just fixed him with an annoyed look he learned from Tony, "If backhanded apologies are all you have, can you just leave me alone? I've got like three weeks of work to catch up on."

Flash, to his credit, actually looked a little upset and guilty at the comment, "Look, man, I'm sorry alright? I'm sorry for how I treated you and I'm sorry for the names I called you." Then Flash's face screwed up even tighter, "Thanks for protecting us, Peter."

Peter was genuinely surprised at the honesty in his tone, "You – you're welcome, Flash."

Then apparently done being nice, Flash nodded once, turned, and headed back out of the library. When Peter saw him at the end of the day, Flash just nodded at him but the chorus of "Penis Parker" never came.

* * *

Tony was in the kitchen when Peter left the elevator and crossed to the living area, tossing his backpack onto one of the chairs as he took up a seat the bar.

Tony smirked at the teenager, "How was school?"

Peter snatched an apple out of the bowl on the counter, "It was fine, a little weird to be back after so long but good. There was a really strange thing that happened though." Peter smiled mischievously, taking a bite of his apple as he left Tony hanging.

Tony was finishing making his coffee, waiting for the end of the story to come and when it did not, he glanced up at the smirk on his son's face, "What is it?"

"Flash apologized. I'm pretty sure you freaked him out with whatever you said." Peter scoffed.

Tony chuckled, "Glad to hear I can still intimidate high schoolers." He winced as he said it, "Are you going out tonight?"

"Yup. I don't want anyone putting two and two together that Spider-Man has to stay in the same night that Peter Parker has a ton of homework to finish." Peter answered, before hopping off the chair and skittering around the counter before wrapping Tony in a hug.

The embrace caught Tony off guard but instinct forced him to wrap his arms around his kid, relaxing and reveling in the very alive teenager in his arms. He pulled him tighter into his chest and closed his eyes.

"Thanks, dad," Peter mumbled and squeezed just a little tighter.

"Always, kid." Tony answered.

They stayed like that for a few moments longer before Peter pulled back, "I'm gonna go grab my suit. I'll be home later tonight."

Tony kept him in the room for a little longer, "Don't be too late, Pete. You'll get a pass on that homework for now but let's not push your luck." Peter flashed him a smile and Tony could not help but add, "And be careful tonight!"

"Always!" Peter called back before he disappeared out of the room.

* * *

 **For those of you who have read some of my other stories, in my mind, this one falls between Beaten Doesn't Mean Broken and Never Let You Down. I kind of wanted to write a piece that fell between those two just to explain the shift in Peter and Tony's relationship and this is what I came up with. I hope it makes sense to those of you who have been reading them! I think this will probably be my last fic for a while, life is going to be happening soon so this is a bit of a fun last story for me.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope everyone has a healthy and happy holiday season!**

 **As always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night and stay creative!**

 **-Lily**


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